THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 8, 1995 TAG: 9512080493
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Chilling winds at the north end of the Norfolk Naval Station - winds that sailors know only too well this time of the year - will greet the 20,000 invited guests Saturday to the commissioning of the nation's newest aircraft carrier, John C. Stennis.
While the giant ship may block some of the north winds and rain that are forecast, Navy officials suggest guests dress warmly for the 11 a.m. ceremony.
``Long johns would not be a bad idea,'' said one official, noting the temperatures may hover in the low 40-degree range, but feel even colder with the wind chill. ``Dress warmly. Bring coats and umbrellas,'' he said.
Defense Secretary William J. Perry is scheduled to be the keynote speaker. Other military dignitaries participating include: Navy Secretary John Dalton; Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Boorda; Sen. John Warner, D-Va.; William P. Fricks, president of Newport News Shipbuilding; Sen. Thad Cochran, R- Miss.; and various guests representing the ship's namesake from Mississippi.
Despite the weather, nearly 3,000 crew members from the seventh Nimitz-class carrier to join the fleet promise to provide the audience a warm reception as they run aboard the 1,092-foot-long behemoth to bring it to life.
Commanded by Capt. Robert C. Klosterman, the ship is named in honor of the late Sen. John C. Stennis, who served in the U.S. Senate from the administration of President Harry Truman in 1947 through the Reagan admistration in 1988.
During his 41-year career, Stennis served as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee from 1969 to 1980. His consistent support for the Navy earned him a reputation as ``the father of America's modern Navy.''
He retired from the Senate in 1988 and died on April 23, 1995. He was buried in Dekalb, Miss.
His daughter and ship's sponsor, Margaret Stennis Womble, will be given the honor of telling the crew to ``bring the ship alive'' during the hourlong ceremony.
That highlight will see sailors lining the ship's rails while sirens, whistles and horns sound off. Lights, radar and anything else that moves on the ship will be turned on.
The Stennis, known by its hull number of CVN-74, is the handiwork of the 23,000-member work force at Newport News Shipbuilding, which has built all of the Nimitz-class super carriers. Its keel was laid March 13, 1991.
At least two more carriers of its class - the Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan - are yet to be completed. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
U.S. NAVY PHOTO
The 480-ton island, the nerve center of the John C. Stennis, was
already 90 percent complete when it was placed on the deck of the
1,092-foot-long behemoth. The Stennis was the seventh super carrier
to be launched from Newport News Shipbuilding.
KEYWORDS: U.S. NAVY AIRCRAFT CARRIERS by CNB